The Spanish middle market is equivalent to 18% of GDP and generates 1 million direct jobs

AI-generated summary

The CRE100DO Foundation has introduced the term Medium Enterprise Plus (ME+) to define companies that fall between small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large companies. Specifically, ME+ companies have revenues between 50 and 500 million euros and make decisions within Spain. This segment, also known as the middle market in Anglo-Saxon terms, includes around 1,800 companies that generate one million jobs—approximately 7% of Spain’s private sector workforce—and contribute 18% to the country’s GDP. These companies uniquely blend the agility of SMEs with the scale and power of large firms, making them particularly important for Spain’s economic development.

ME+ companies have several distinctive features: they have a strong presence in the industrial sector, are more stable and resilient, operate internationally, and focus on long-term value creation through innovation. Additionally, 63% of ME+ firms are located outside Madrid and Barcelona, helping to densify Spain’s business landscape and combat regional economic disparities. These companies align with Spain’s future economic model by producing higher-value goods and services while committing to sustainability and employee welfare. The CRE100DO Foundation emphasizes that supporting ME+ companies is crucial for enhancing productivity, fostering sustainable employment, encouraging innovation, and promoting balanced regional growth in Spain.

The CRE100DO Foundation, established by the Bankinter Innovation Foundation, ICEX, and the Círculo de Empresarios, currently includes over 100 ME+ companies with a combined turnover of 16.5 billion euros and 85,000 employees. Its mission is to help these firms become more innovative, competitive, and international, thereby driving Spain’s economic and social progress.

We collect the main conclusions of the CRE100DO Foundation's report on the Spanish middle market and its importance for the country's economy.

When we talk about companies, it is common to classify them only between SMEs and Large Companies, the latter being those with more than 50 million euros in turnover, more than 250 employees, and/or more than 43 million euros in balance sheet. But not from the Middle Market.

The CRE100DO Foundation has coined the term Medium Enterprise Plus (ME+) to refer to those companies that are too large to be SMEs but do not reach the category of Large Companies. That is, for companies with revenues of between 50 and 500 million euros and whose decision-making is in Spain. This is what the Anglo-Saxons call the middle market. And it is where this Foundation, of which we are founders and patrons, focuses to help them create more added value, to be more innovative, more competitive and more international.

Last November, the CRE100DO Foundation launched the report “The importance of Spanish Medium-sized Enterprises Plus for the country’s economy” to find out about the impact of this type of company.

Why is the Medium Business Plus important?

This ME+ segment is made up of approximately 1,800 companies that generate one million jobs – almost 7% of the private sector workforce – and is equivalent to 18% of Spanish GDP.

Spanish Medium Company Plus

Source: CRE100DO

What are the characteristics of the ME+ segment?

The ME+ segment combines the flexibility and drive of small and medium-sized businesses, with the power and scale of larger companies.

Some additional data that highlight the importance of ME+ are:

  • They have a greater presence in the industrial sector than the average for Spanish companies (32% vs. 6%).
  • They are more stable and resilient organizations.
  • They operate internationally, generating value at the national level.
  • They focus on long-term value creation and make strong investments in innovation.
  • Due to their geographical distribution, they contribute to densifying the Spanish business fabric (63% of ME+ companies are located outside Madrid and Barcelona compared to 44% of the rest of large companies).

Likewise, these companies have characteristics of the production models towards which the Spanish economy should evolve: larger companies, producers of goods and services with greater added value, committed to their employees, to innovation, sustainability and the environment in which they operate.

According to the report, the business fabric of ME+ must be harnessed to boost the development of the Spanish economy and society, given its potential to, among other things:

  • To promote the productivity of our business fabric.
  • To contribute to densifying the business fabric and mitigate the advance of the “emptied Spain”.
  • Create qualified and sustainable employment.
  • Generate investments with a higher rate of return.

The CRE100DO Foundation

The CRE100DO Foundation arose from the initiative of the Bankinter Innovation Foundation, together with ICEX and the Círculo de Empresarios. CRE100DO has become a success story of the public-private initiative in our country. Today, there are already more than 100 ME+ companies that are part of CRE100DO, with an aggregate turnover of 16,500 million euros and 85,000 direct employees.

Here you can access the full report:

The importance of the Spanish Medium-sized Enterprise Plus for the country’s economy